Around Jerusalem [part 1]

The wall currently around Jerusalem was primarily built in the 16th century by the Ottomans.  It is 2.5 miles long, with 8 gates.  In the 2.5 days we spent walking around Jerusalem, we managed to see all 8, but only took pictures of 7.  All gates are open with the exception of the Golden Gate, which was sealed in the 7th century.  It's the gate that Jesus is said to have passed through during the "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem-- and is the closest gate when standing on the Mount of Olives.

                         

 

Venturing into the walled city, the most popular Christian attraction is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, because everything happened there!  (So they say.)  It was built in the 4th century, at the place where Christ was crucified, anointed, and buried.  Because they claim so many historic events, there is a huge church, and is maintained both by the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.  It's wildly popular with tourists, and people are praying and worshiping things everywhere.  It was a bit overwhelming, and not my style, but worth seeing once.  You can walk down the Via Dolorosa path and see the 14 stations of the cross--which leads you to this place.  

The main entrance. The door to the right has been blocked off basically ever since it was built in the 12th century. 

One of the two domes of the church. This lets in light onto the claimed burial site.  (The line to peek inside the burial area was probably over an hour long, so we passed...) 

Clockwise: the second dome, with a nice mosaic; a Greek Orthodox priest (I think); another angle of the burial site, with lanterns that are hanging all over the church; the supposed site of the crucifixion: Golgotha

There is a large mosaic on the wall when you first walk in to the church, showing Christ being taken down from the cross, anointed, and moved to the tomb.  

 Another "must-see" site in Jerusalem is the Garden of Gethsemane.  Fortunately, we were staying on the Mount of Olives, so it was just a short walk down the hill.  We had lofty plans to go down early in the morning and have some quiet time to reflect... but it didn't quite work out like that.  Instead of a large garden, its actually just a fenced off area with flowers and olive trees.  You can walk on a small path around the outside (with no benches) but not in the garden area.  (The pictures below might make it seem bigger than it is.  Just keep in mind those are pretty much all the same trees, just from different angles.)  

 
 

And like most places around the city, there was an adjacent church to visit: the Church of all Nations.  This was one of the prettiest churches we saw.  There's a large mosaic on the outside, the entrance is covered in art reminiscent of an olive tree, and the ceiling is covered in 12 blue mosaic domes.

Church of All Nations at a distance, with the Russian Orthodox church St Mary Magdalene above it.  Looks Russian, huh?

Back up the hill from the Garden of Gethsemane (about 5 minutes away) is the Orson Hyde Garden, commemorating the area where he went in 1841 to dedicate the Holy Land for the gathering of the Jews.  Unlike Gethsemane, it is a large park area that you can walk through undisturbed (5.5 acres).  In fact, we were told that it's not the safest place to wander around because pick-pockets go there.  (Makes sense.  There's no one around to witness anything.)  We didn't venture too far in, but enjoyed some quiet time overlooking the city on the Mount of Olives.  There's a sign at the entrance that gives some brief information about the garden and the last line says: "There is a Mormon church in the garden".  Hyrum and I looked at each other a bit perplexed about how there was a Mormon church there, and after looking around, the closest we found was a small building where perhaps a gardener stayed...

And one last stop on the Mount of Olives worth mentioning is the Jewish Cemetery.  We walked by it several times, and it never ceases to amaze.  The hillside is literally covered in thousands of slightly-raised tombs, which blend right into the desert landscape.  

View of part of the cemetery from a distance.

Another place that we really enjoyed was the other Garden Tomb...about 5 minutes north of the walled city.      Unlike the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, right in the middle of the city and crowded with people, the second identified burial site is relatively quiet and peaceful.  The site was 'discovered' in the late 1800's, and the description matches pretty well with the Bible.  However, the tomb itself dates back several hundred years before Christ, which raises some doubts: Christ was buried in a new tomb.  A basic message of the site--which is maintained by a non-denominational British Christian group--is that it doesn't matter exactly where Christ was buried and resurrected; its more important to remember that he actually was resurrected.  They weren't there to convince tourists that their land was the "right place", but instead to provide an area for visitors to reflect and feel something.  (They don't even charge for the entrance or audio guide... gotta love that.)  

(This is the garden that you see in most LDS art, for example, at the back of the Bible in the photo section.)

 

A potential location of Golgotha

Switching gears from Christian sites to Jewish sites, we'll now visit the Western Wall.  It is the holiest site in Judaism.  Interestingly the plaza where Jews go to worship is surrounded on two sides by the Muslim territory.  (One side is actually the Temple Mount, where most Jews won't go because its forbidden in the Torah. You can see the Dome of the Rock in the picture below, just over the wall.)  I read somewhere--so I'm not positive this is true--that when the temple was destroyed, Jews believed that God actually then resided in this wall.  People insert messages and letters into the wall directed to God.  

With the wall serving as an outdoor synagogue, you can see people praying there all the time.  Below is the division between men and women.  The men's section is quite large, while the women looked a bit crowded with their little corner.  But I heard no complaining...

Hyrum put on a head covering and ventured to the wall on the men's side.  (Can you spot him below?!)  I had fun watching him from a distance.  He walked over to a corner, and approached the wall.  Then looked around to see what everyone else was doing and just copied them.  I couldn't tell if he was trying to pray, too...??

He found an area that was not in the open plaza where people can worship with more privacy (I suppose that's the logic.  Didn't stop Hyrum from pulling out his camera, though...)  There's a library with books for people to use, along with chairs and other pieces of furniture.  It's pretty cool to visit a place that is so meaningful to Judaism, and to see Jews of all types visiting to pray. 

Stay tuned for many more Jerusalem sites, including the Dome of the Rock and Pool of Bethesda!